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Back Come Again No More Save as PDF
Chapters (55)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover
  3. Title Page
  4. Contents
  5. PART I 
  6. 1.
  7. 2.
  8. 3.
  9. 4.
  10. 5.
  11. 6.
  12. 7.
  13. 8.
  14. 9.
  15. 10.
  16. 11.
  17. 12.
  18. PART II 
  19. 13.
  20. 14.
  21. 15.
  22. 16.
  23. 17.
  24. 18.
  25. 19.
  26. 20.
  27. 21.
  28. 22.
  29. 23.
  30. 24.
  31. 25.
  32. 26.
  33. 27.
  34. 28.
  35. 29.
  36. 30.
  37. PART III 
  38. 31.
  39. 32.
  40. 33.
  41. 34.
  42. 35.
  43. 36.
  44. 37.
  45. 38.
  46. 39.
  47. PART IV 
  48. 40.
  49. 41.
  50. 42.
  51. 43.
  52. 44.
  53. 45.
  54. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  55. Touchstone Reading Group Guide

“Thelma Pearl can’t drive.”

Bucky found a drunken lawyer who worked cheap. The lawyer located a judge who was a fight fan. Jake was granted a divorce from Thelma Pearl on grounds of desertion. Bucky wanted to go out and celebrate, but Jake turned him down. It didn’t matter a whole lot if Bucky was right and Thelma Pearl was all the terrible things he claimed she was. He missed her. Bucky went out and got drunk for both of them, starting a bender that lasted a week. Jake went home. By nine o’clock, he was sound asleep.

He fought a dozen times in 1932 and lost two close decisions. The fix might have been in with the judges, he’d never know, but they were losses to men he would have knocked out a year or two earlier, before Lionel Kane. It was harder to get up in the morning to do the roadwork, harder to take the punches. He was casting about for another racket, but a working stiff couldn’t earn in a year what a prizefighter could make for one big fight, so he kept fighting two or three bouts a month, sometimes taking fights on consecutive nights in different towns. In the early spring of 1933, Moe Spitzer came by the gym.

“I got a real fight for you, McCloskey.”

“Who is it?”

“Big Polack out of Omaha. Looks mean as hell, aint been beat, but you can lick him. I seen him in Cheyenne, he can’t fight.”

“You told me Lionel Kane couldn’t fight.”

“You don’t listen good. I said Kane was fat. I never said he couldn’t fight. I said fat and you thought slow, which is not the same thing. Now are you going to fight this fuckin Polack or do I got to get one of the niggers to fight him?”

“Do I got a choice?”

“We all have choices, boychik.”

“Not when that damned dame run off with all my money.”

“Good you reminded me.” Moe pulled his roll out of his pocket, peeled off a hundred dollars for Jake. “There’s an advance on expenses. You get so you got to have quiff, pay for it up front. Stay away from them farmers’ daughters. I don’t need no crazy hayseed with a shotgun after my fighter, hear?”

“You know me, Moe.”

15.